April 17 Expert Chat Transcript: Research-Based Reading Interventions
The following is a transcript from an online chat event facilitated by Dr. Margo Mastropieri and Dr. Janet Graetz entitled “ Implementing Research-Based Reading Interventions to Improve Access to the General Education Curriculum .” The chat took place on April 17, 2003 .
ChatMaster
On behalf of the Access Center, welcome to our first expert chat event
on the topic of research-based reading interventions.
We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Margo Mastropieri, Professor of Special Education in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University facilitating this discussion. Dr. Mastropieri is joined by her colleague, Dr. Janet Graetz, who will be joining the faculty at Oakland University in Michigan in August 2003.
Dr. Mastropieri and Dr. Graetz will be online for the next hour to answer your questions and facilitate a discussion on how research-based reading interventions help students with disabilities access the general education curriculum. A transcript of this chat will be available on the Access Center website at: www. K8accesscenter.org.
Dr. Mastropieri has focused much of her research on cognitive strategies designed to promote learning and retention of school-related information. She has also studied what happens during inclusive instruction with students with disabilities and suggested instructional strategies to facilitate inclusive efforts.
Dr. Janet Graetz recently completed her doctoral studies in special education at George Mason University. For nearly 20 years, she has taught individuals with special needs focusing on children with autism.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
We are pleased to have this opportunity to participate with you and
the ACCESS Center staff. We would like to thank all the Access staff
for inviting us and helping us with this on line session.
ChatMaster
who would like to pose the first question?
Wayne Ball
There is so much talk about using Research-Based Reading Interventions,
but there seems to be much discussion about which one is best or which
method to use, could you elaborate?
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
That is a very good question. We now have a great deal of research that
supports reading instruction for students with disabilities. For example,
the National Reading Panel concluded after extensive studies of the
research literature that students should receive instruction in phonemic
awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension to help become
better and more fluent readers and comprehenders.
Daphne Worsham
Good morning everyone! (or afternoon, depending on where you are) Dr.
Mastropieri, I am wondering if you have any recommendations of studies,
or strategies that are being studied currently, pertaining to reading
interventions with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
(and related issues) I know this is an area we are going to be asked
to assist with in the near future.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
I don't know of any particular studies as of now focusing just on autism.
In most of the autism classrooms, we implement many of the same reading
programs. Since children with autism tend to be visual learners, frequently
programs are used that include visual strategies.
In the area of reading comprehension, I have also used software, such as Inspiration to support students with autism. The visual mapping seems to help.
Karen Janowski
One of the issues that I commonly face is that students receive reading
instruction (remediation) and yet even though they are not reading at
grade level they are responsible for the curriculum (state-wide testing).
Any comments?
Daphne Worsham
That's an interesting application, as I have been under the impression,
both from information from "experts" and my work in classrooms,
that many autistic children do not work well with representations, needing
"photographs" rather than drawings. I suppose it depends on
the level of function. So Inspiration is used with work to increase
comprehensions skills??
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
The issue of access to the general education curriculum is an important
one. Since many students with disabilities have reading levels substantially
lower than the adopted general education textbooks, the challenge becomes
helping students learn that content either by using reading comprehension
strategies and/or by adapting the text materials so students can read
the content.
Karen Janowski
How are you adapting the text?
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Daphne, yes, many students with autism require an actual photograph
as opposed to line drawings. It does depend on the level of functioning.
Yes, Inspiration can help students with a visual reminder of content
material.
Amie Fulcher
I have used programs such as PowerPoint, IntelliPics, Hyperstudio, etc
to adapt text.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Karen, textbooks can be adapted in many ways. One method that has been
successful involves using peers. Research has shown that partnering
students in peer-tutoring situations can be one way of adapting the
reading materials. In some research the peer tutors read the materials
to their partners and ask their partners reading comprehension strategies.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Amie, yes, these are all wonderful programs to help with text adaptation.
Karen Janowski
How about use of text to speech software of which there are a number
of programs
Judy Shanley
In response to Dr. M's information about peer tutoring. I would imagine
that there are also secondary benefits related to peer tutoring that
can positively impact upon access - social - cultural variables - a
student's sense of empowerment, etc.
Karen Janowski
Margo, how do the peers know how to adapt the curriculum for peers with
learning issues?
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
I have limited use of text to speech software but should certainly be
considered.
Karen Janowski
Judy, I can also see the reverse happening that the students whose material
is being adapted by peers feel less empowered, etc.
Daphne Worsham
"Adapting" a text book via peer tutoring situations sounds
like the material is actually being modified (summarized perhaps) in
some way. Do you have a structured process or protocol for this, or
is it worked out between the students?
Amie Fulcher
Another great program for adapting text or to promote reading on a different
level is Writing With Symbols 2000 by Mayer Johson. It is a symbol based
writing program. Great for writing social stories, daily menus, notes
home, etc.
Karen Janowski
Janet, what do you use to adapt text for students with reading issues?
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Another method for adapting textbooks involves the use of graphic organizers.
Graphic organizers can be made to highlight the critical content in
the text in a more user-friendly format. Software such as Inspiration
can be used to facilitate the making of those graphic organizers. That
particular software program also converts the organizers into outline
formats. Moreover, KIDSPIRATION allows voice output as well.
Karen Janowski
Amie, yes but how about for the students who demonstrate "normal"
cognition and are say in middle school?
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Karen, I usually try to find the "big idea" in the passage
or the reading material. What are the words that are important for the
student to know? What are the main ideas? Then, I rewrite the text,
incorporating familiar words that should be known.
Karen Janowski
Janet, you rewrite an entire chapter?
Do you know about the auto summarize feature in Microsoft Word that could potentially do that for you?
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Graphic organizers seem especially effective for middle school students.
If they are incorporated and taught in the early grades, then students
become efficient at using them by middle school.
Audrey Burke Janet, how labor intensive is it to use these graphic organizers?
Amie Fulcher
Text to speech software is great to use for the older students as well.
It allows the students to generate their own work and receive verbal
feedback. Fonts can be modified in color and size as well as the background
colors for the students who have vision issues.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Karen, I might look at the entire chapter, but I do not rewrite the
entire chapter. Again, I look for the big ideas and concentrate on them.
Karen Janowski
Janet, but the student (at least in MA) is still responsible for learning
the content in expectation of passing the MCAS statewide tests.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
The majority of the peer tutoring research seems to show that when tutors
and tutees are trained using specific procedures, the findings are more
positive. In our research, for example, students with disabilities have
cue cards containing steps for implementing reading comprehension strategies.
One strategy we have used is a summarization strategy, in which students
are told to ask and answer simple questions such as: Who or what is
the passage about? What is happening to who or what? And then say a
summary sentence for that passage.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Audrey, it takes time to teach students how to use graphic organizers
but it is well worth the time and effort. As I just stated, if they
are introduced in elementary classes and are continued in other grades,
then students become more efficient in using them.
Stella Brown
Karen, another suggestion is encouraging students to pull outlines out
of the texts- not as labor-intensive, and brings out main and supporting
ideas and information with regard to content.
Daphne Worsham
So it seems there is quite frequent use of these graphical organizers
like Inspiration. Are there any studies you could cite that were done
with students using software of this type?
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Karen, yes that is definitely a concern. Most of my previous students
were following a modified curriculum. How do you address it now?
Peggy Childs
Karen, start gathering a variety of reading materials that link to your
objectives. It could be books on other levels, magazine articles or
"rewrites of the text" you create.
Jim Hamilton
Can someone update us on whether text publishers are making their materials
more accessible? Jane and I want to know.
Karen Janowski
Janet, I think that is the crux of the issue. We can't just consider
remediation for this population but also must build in compensation
strategies that allow them to access the curriculum as independently
as possible.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
We have actually just completed two studies that we are writing up for
submission to journals right now that used inspiration software. One
study involved the use of inspiration in world history classes in which
students were provided with template graphic organizers. When instructed
using the organizers, students recalled more content on tests than traditional
instruction.
Amie Fulcher
As a matter of fact Jim, I contacted CAST today to see if they could
put me in contact with any Textbook publishers who are publishing Universally
Designed textbooks. I will let you know what I find out.
Karen Janowski
What we need to do is request (demand) that the publishers provide an
e-text version of their textbooks for universal design for learning.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Karen, yes, I agree. We must still continue to find ways so that more
students can access the curriculum independently. It becomes more difficult,
especially after third grade, when the curriculum material is presented
fast and furious!
Karen Janowski We can make a difference in the lives of our students!
Daphne Worsham
Regarding the studies - Terrific! These are the kind of materials we
need to point teachers and administrators to. I'll watch for their publication
- perhaps the Access center could include a note on the web site when
they come out?
Wayne Ball
Could you comment on how it is that these reading interventions connect
to limiting or enhancing the access to the general curriculum?
Peggy Childs
Layered Curriculum is a method we have been using to help differentiate
instruction. It helps special education students who are in the regular
ed. classroom. Check it out at www.help4teachers.com.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Another project involved using the inspiration software in high school
English classes. Students used the software to brainstorm ideas for
writing papers. In this study, students with learning disabilities and
emotional disabilities were taught to make various organizers to use
before they wrote first drafts of their papers.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Karen, yes it would be great to have an e-text of all texts! I would
hope that publishers would provide more information for students at
a variety of learning levels.
Amie Fulcher
You are so right Karen. Have you heard of the program Kurzweil 3000?
One of the new features in the latest version is the ability to reach
out to the digital libraries and giving students access to e-text. Check
it out. It is a great resource.
Karen Janowski
Margo, have you tried Draft Builder? It is especially effective for
middle and high school students
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER) Access to the general ed curriculum is the challenge for all of us. It seems, however, that we can rely on reading comprehension research results to help us design interventions. Research has documented that reading comprehension strategy instruction has been beneficial for students with learning difficulties. Several Meta-analyses or large-scale research syntheses document the efficacy of reading comprehension strategy instruction: Talbott, Lloyd, & Tankersley (1994); Mastropieri, Scruggs, Bakken, & Whedon (1996) and Swanson (1999). These findings have identified some very promising strategies that work with students with disabilities.
Karen Janowski
Amie, I'm actually beta testing the MAC version when it comes out
Amie Fulcher
Karen, How cool is that? Great for you. I would love to hear your thoughts
about it.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Do you have a citation for DRAFT BUILDER? It sounds very interesting.
Amie Fulcher
Draft Builder is a product of Don Johnston, Inc.
Karen Janowski
You can get a 30 day trial from their website.
Amie Fulcher
Margo, you would like it.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
In addition to the reading program, perhaps we need to also look at
the teacher. Dewitz and Dewitz (2003) looked at how the teacher taught
reading and not just the reading program. In addition to what the teachers
were using (which reading program) they found that how teachers teach
impacted reading achievement. They report that the teacher who "tells"
their students too much does not appear to be as effective. When coding
student behavior in classrooms they also noted that the students who
were actively involved, reading and writing, demonstrated more growth.
This supports Pressley et al. (2001) and his findings regarding teacher
behavior when teaching reading.
Karen Janowski
Margo, what are some of those strategies from the research that you
cited?
Peggy Childs
What are some suggestions for real low-level readers - LD students at
a secondary level?
Amie Fulcher
Janet, I totally agree with you. That’s why, if teachers have access
to some of these programs that have been mentioned here today, they
can actively involve their students in the writing and reading process.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Teaching strategies for increasing fluency are important. Students
become more fluent with increased opportunities to read. The National
Reading Panel (2000) reported that oral, repeated readings were more
beneficial to average readers and recommends that teachers implement
guided oral reading in their classrooms. Chard, Vaughn and Tyler (2002)
also report in their synthesis of research on effective interventions
that cross-age tutoring and teacher modeling were also effective.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Some of the strategies can be subdivided into the amount of teacher
time and impact on students learning.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Strategies that require the least amount of teacher time and effort
include vocabulary instruction and corrective feedback. These strategies
can help make a difference in students' comprehension, but require little
teacher preparation time and little time on the part of students to
learn.
Karen Janowski
Janet, you mention that oral reading increases fluency for average readers.
What increases fluency for reading disabled students from the research?
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Another class of strategies can be referred to as text enhancements.
These strategies take more teacher preparation time, but also impact
student learning more. These include adaptations to texts, such as the
organizers discussed earlier. In addition mnemonic strategies, imagery
and other adjunct aids are examples. All help increase student learning
and access to the general education curriculum.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Amie, yes, there is definitely a place for technology in reading achievement.
But can it replace the "teacher" when it comes to listening
to a fluent reader? The National Reading Panel reported that computer-modeled
reading appeared better than no modeling but not as effective as teacher
modeling. Technology and reading can be used in a variety of ways but
it needs to be part of a larger reading package.
Judy Shanley
Margo - Janet - Do you think that NCLB and other pending legislation
will have an impact upon the kinds of reading programs in our schools?
How do you think we can become better consumers -- more critical in
our selection of the interventions we choose?
Karen Janowski
I'm in MA and am an assistive technology specialist/consultant
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
The most powerful strategies are referred to as those that involve "self-questioning
strategies." These strategies also require more teacher time and
more student time. Examples include summarization strategies like the
one described earlier and combinations or packages of strategies. These
strategies take longer for students with disabilities to learn, but
the pay-off in learning is usually very substantial.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER) Judy, that is a very important point. We are all going to need to become better consumers of research.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
I also think it will be important for all of us to be able to identify
the critical features of commercially available materials.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Fluency increases with the use of repeated readings, peer tutoring,
Cross-age tutoring or repeated readings with a partner may be effective.
It does appear that good and poor readers both benefit from repeated
guided reading. Students need time to practice to be able to rapidly
process print by reading passages more than once. Review Chard et al.
(2002) for a synthesis of 24 studies that report findings on repeated
readings, sustained reading, and fluency. The article appears in Journal
of Learning Disabilities: A synthesis of research on effective interventions
for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning
disabilities, vol. 35, pages 386-406.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Below is a list of some programs with a research base: Reading Program:
Open Court Publisher/ Authors, Marilyn J. Adams, Carl Bereiter, Jan
Hirshberg, Valerie Anderson S.A. Bernier Components: Basal Reading Program;
phonics instruction, integrated instruction, practice and enrichment;
scripted lessons Target Population: k-6 Efficacy: Review: The Effectiveness
of Open Court on Improving the Reading Achievement of Economically-Disadvantaged
Children by Margaret Moustafa and Robert Land, paper presented National
Council Teachers of English, Nov. 15-20, 2001; Review: Building on the
Best; Learning from What Works: Seven Promising Reading and English
Language Arts Programs (1998) AFT. Review: Foorman, B.R., Francis, D.J.,
Fletecher, J.M., Schatschneider, C., & Mehta, P. (1998). The role
of instruction in learning to read: Preventing reading failure in at-risk
children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90 (1), 37-55. Reading
Program: SRA Reading Mastery Publisher/ Authors: SRA/Mcgraw-Hill; Siegfried
Engelm
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
I'll try this again. Review Chard et al. for a synthesis of 24 studies
that report findings on repeated readings, sustained reading, and fluency.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Reading Mastery and Corrective Reading by SRA have supporting efficacy
data for students with reading difficulties.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
The Lindamood program has also been shown to be effective at increasing
reading levels of students with serious reading difficulties.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Chard's synthesis appears in Journal of Learning Disabilities, vol.
35 (2002). It is called: A synthesis of research on effective interventions
for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning
disabilities. (pages 386-406)
Karen Janowski
I will look for that article.
Karen Janowski
What do you believe is the greatest challenge with reading instruction
in this current educational climate?
Judy Shanley From Don - This is a really nice list of reading programs. Are there key differences among these programs we should be aware of?
Amie Fulcher
I have 2 books from the Reading Research to Practice A Series for Teachers
and they are: 1) When Adolescents Can't Read Methods and Materials that
work by Mary E. Curtis and Ann Marie Longo and 2) Learning to Read in
the Computer Age by Anne Meyer and David Rose. Two great resources.
Amie Fulcher
Good question Karen. I wish I knew. It is amazing how many teachers
do not know.
Karen Janowski
How many in this audience have heard of and use universal curriculum
design or universal design for learning strategies with their students?
Just curious.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
One of the many challenges is to have sufficient time and instructional
conditions to teach students with difficulties how to learn to read
and comprehend. Many teachers are faced with too little time to adequately
prepare students to read. The pace of instruction in the general ed
class is typically much more rapid than many students require.
Karen Janowski
Margo, that is a challenge
Tina Diamond How can I monitor students reading progress?
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
A very good method for monitoring student progress is through the use
of curriculum based measurement (CBM). CBM involves the administration
of short tests that are correlated with the curriculum. For example,
some have used short passages consisting of 100 words and required students
to read as quickly and as accurately as possible for one minute. The
number of correctly read words and incorrectly words are then recorded
on a graph. Teachers can then refer to student progress by examining
the graph and making informed instructional decisions based on the graphic
display of the data.
Nancy Barnes
I use running records and timed passages where we graph their words
read correctly per minute
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
In the area of fluency, a teacher can use a CFS. A Classroom Fluency
Snapshot (CFS) is a one-minute reading that can help a teacher identify
students that may need help. A student reads for one minute and the
teacher notes the errors. (Blachowicz, Sullivan, & Cieply, 2001).
Nancy Barnes
My students read orally with a partner monitoring and I time everyone
at the same time.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Nancy what do your running records look like?
Nancy Barnes
I have different leveled passages for different students, it depends
on the reading level
Karen Janowski
You can also tape record or use digital video to record students over
time and create a digital record over time
ChatMaster
It’s time to conclude today’s chat event. We are so pleased about the
participation and the level of discourse. Our sincere thanks to both
Dr. Mastropieri and Dr. Graetz for sharing the experience and expertise.
A transcript of this chat will be available on the Access Center website
at: www. K8accesscenter.org...
Nancy Barnes
I use the Rewards program with most of my students
ChatMaster
Please join us (and tell your colleagues) for the next Access Center
expert chat event with Dr. Rebecca (Becki Herman).
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Karen, I love the idea of using a tape-recording of the voice. What
a great way to have a record of student progress!
ChatMaster
Dr. Herman’s chat session is entitled: “Research-Based, Evidence-Based,
Scientifically-Based, and Research Proven: What Does it All Mean?”
Dr. Herman is the Project Director of the What Works Clearinghouse, a project funded by the Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences. She does education policy research specializing in critical research reviews and approaches to school reform.
The date of this chat is not yet finalized. Watch for the date announcement in your email and on our website: www.k8accesscenter.org.
MARGO MASTROPIERI (GUEST SPEAKER)
Thanks so much for the wonderful afternoon. We really enjoyed the time
with all of you.
JANET GRAETZ (guest speaker)
Thanks everyone! This was a great opportunity to talk with others!
